e.

"Robots are logical--nothing more," she said. "Most questions can't be
given black and white answers. There must be an intermediary who
understands the limitations of the mechanical mind to interpret it to
the public."

"I don't see how this is going to help me," he said.

"You've been trying to get an official to say that you're right and
he'll see that the change is made. Abandon that approach. He'll never
take the time. Write your request."

"For forty years we've been writing. That's why I'm here."

Chloe smiled again. "The number of letters received by the government in
one year reaches a remarkable total. Or perhaps the total isn't huge
when you consider how many humans in the Universe there are. Anyway,
off-planet letters are never opened, because there's no way to tell from
the outside which are important. So they're all pulped and used as
nutrients in food tanks."

Marcus nodded dubiously. "I see. Anyone who thinks he has something
important will come here ... as I did. And if he isn't satisfied he
tries to go over the head of whoever refused the request. This volume is
still great, but it's small enough to be processed without falling
hopelessly behind."

"Exactly. And if you phrase your request properly there's a good chance
it will be granted, even if it is foolish."

"This isn't foolish," said Marcus, rubbing his hands. "I've got all the
facts. I can write them in my sleep."

"Who said anything about facts?" said Chloe. "The worst thing you can do
is to give them facts. Don't you see what I'm trying to tell you?"

Marcus took a deep breath. "No," he said.

"Let's go over it again. Mathew Mezzerow discovered a planet and named
it after himself. Does this mean anything? Not really. Does it mean
anything that Messy Row will be settled more slowly because of the name?
Again no. Thousands of other planets will gain the settlers that Messy
Row loses. The robot will refuse a request based on facts and from the
government's viewpoint will be justified."

"But you just said robots don't handle requests."

"Face to face they don't. You would resent it as an arrogant bureaucracy
being told you couldn't have something by a robot. But you don't see who
processes written requests. And in these matters the government uses
robots because they're more efficient."

It was too complex for Marcus. Robots processed written requests, but
not those made in person. Robots were logical and only logical and
the